Toothpick Tricks

Sometime this past weekend my car was under attack and vandalized by toothpicks. Actually it may not have been this weekend; it could have been last week.

Confused? As was I when I got into my car on Sunday and saw this:

Let's rewind. If you have remotely spoken with me in the past 3 weeks then you have heard my constant complaining regarding my poor, little car that became violently ill Florida/Auburn weekend. As it turns out my car had a jacked up transmission.  And thus the car drama began. Basically J and I shared a car for two weeks while the transmission was rebuilt or something. On 3 different occasions during these two weeks the transmission person called and said the car was fixed. J would pick up the car, drive it a few miles and the check engine light would magically come back on as the car struggled to switch gears - or whatever. The whole situation is frustrating, but even more so because I believe all automobile businesses try to rip consumers off. Last Thursday, my car was returned and so far the check engine light has not lit up. Thank goodness.

A few days later, I got into the car and noticed the sketchy toothpicks in my visor. My visor has issues of staying up when not needed. In fact, it refuses to stay up and falls down ALL the time. Apparently, this annoyed a mechanic and they took their anger out by using MY toothpicks and stabbing the visor. Yup, they took the green little toothpics in my consul and ninja rigged the visor. I would not be so angry aside from the fact that their oily, dirty, little paws left grease on the toothpicks, no one gave them permission to fix the visor and lastly, no one gave them permission to stab a hole in my visor.

Visor pulled down.

Dirty, smudged toothpicks when the visor is up. 

What would have happened if I did not have a stash of toothpicks laying around?

And for your information, the visor is semi fixed. Instead of falling all the way down, it only falls about 25% of the way. Scandolous.

Apple & Pear Cobbler

Apple & Pear Cobbler

4 Fresh Pears - sliced

4 Fresh Apples - sliced

2T Cinnamon Powder

1T Nutmeg Powder

1C Sugar 

3/4C Butter - melted
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar together with the sliced apples and pears. Place the pear and apple substance in a baking container and cover with the yellow cake mix. Pour the melted butter on top (make sure the top is coated w/ butter). Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

I personally have not made this, but I would. Such an easy recipe that seems to require minimal effort and a short baking time. My sister works at a hotel and this is a popular recipe served there. She emailed it over - however she has not tried it either because she doesn't eat apples, pears or cinnamon. She's an odd bird. :) As with any cobbler, I imagine ice cream would be a heavenly addition.

Homemade Apple Pie

Homemade Apple Pie

8 medium apples - 4 Granny Smith, 4 Courtland, Jonathan or another firm apple (You need about 8 cups)

Lemon Juice

3/4C Sugar

1/4C Brown Sugar

1/4 C Flour

2 t Cinnamon

1/4 t Nutmeg

Pre Made Crust

Pillsbury Dough

Butter

Peel the apples and cut them into slices or chunks. Put the apple slices in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Mix the sugars, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Add this mixture to the apples and toss well. Make sure the apples are completely coated. Fill the pie crust with the apple mixture. For the lattice crust, you can use the Pillsbury dough that you unroll and use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into strips. Place the strips vertically and horizontally across the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Check the crust to make sure it is not burning -if it is than place aluminum foil on it. Ten minutes before it is done, brush the crust with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Serve hot with ice cream.

This was our dessert from the October HHBC. It was SO delicious and even better with vanilla ice cream on top. A wonderful festive dessert for the fall season.